6/27/22
What another full day!
I said a fond farewell to Aurelie last night (although we plan to see each other at least once more before I leave town!) and woke up this morning shortly after she left for work. I had some breakfast and took a shower, and then headed out to meet a former Portland dance-community acquaintance, Roxanne, to visit the Montreal Botanical Garden. (On the way I passed another breathtaking church, and had to capture it.)
I had visited the garden once before, in 2019, and was looking forward to seeing it again. Its lush beauty today did not disappoint, and we visited the Alpine garden, Japanese garden, Classical Chinese Garden, and arboretum, among other beautiful natural pathways through the place.
Meanwhile, we talked travel! Roxanne and her husband Johnny left Portland in 2017 to become full-time travelers, mostly in Europe. She shared some great stories and travel tips about Europe, health insurance, overseas medical and dental “tourism” (she strongly suggested I consider getting my next dental surgery in either Hungary or Romania… hmmm…) It sounds like she and Johnny have been having a wonderful time in places like Croatia, Spain, Portugal, and other countries. I do want to get to Europe at some point. It was fun to talk about it.
After the garden, I made my way back to Aurelie’s place to pack up my things and head out to my new Warmshowers hosts for tonight and tomorrow, Mathilde and Ben, who coincidentally are also French citizens, and also aim to live a zero-waste lifestyle, like Aurelie. They live in the northern suburb of Terrebonne, and when you factor in my dinner stop along the way, I ended up cycling 20 miles (32 km) to get there! I was ready for a rest and chat with a tall glass of water when I arrived. (They use a stick of charcoal in a glass jar of refrigerated tap water to filter it! I had never heard of this low-waste alternative to a Brita-type water filter.)
The ride over here was very beautiful in parts, crossing bridges and cycling along waterways, right during golden hour.
Tomorrow I plan to check out the forested park across the street from their house, as well as the “old town” that I rode through briefly on my way here. It looked very scenic, including a small island.
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